Brick facing machine



Oct. 15, 1957 A. GENDRON ETAL ,8

BRICK FACING MACHINE Filed Jan. 3, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 1957 A. GENDRON ET AL 2,809,625

BRICK FACING MACHINE :5 Shets-Sheet 2 Oct. 15, 1957 A. GENDRON ETAL 2,809,625

BRICK-FACING MACHINE Filed Jan. 3, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States atent BRICK FACING MACHINE Albert Gendron and Joseph S. Ladenchuk, Sarnia, Ontario, Canada Application January 3, 1956, Serial No. 557,199 4 Claims. cl. 125-23 This invention relates to a machine for facing bricks.

More particularly, the invention relates to a machine for chipping one face of the brick so that the brick simulates a stone. Thus, a wall made of bricks so chipped or faced simulates a wall made of stone.

Attempts have been made to chip one face of a brick by machines so as to simulate a stone. Such machines are not satisfactory, in that while the face is chipped, the face so chipped presents a substantially fiat surface, md not a convexly-foirned surface such as a handworked stone presents.

The machine of the present invention, on the other hand, so chips the brick that it presents a convexlyformed face, simulating to a remarkable degree a hand worked or carved stone.

The principal object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a very efiicient machine for chipping a brick so that it presents a convexly-formed face simulating a handworked stone. This object is achieved by a pair of tools, the cutting or working ends of which move, not parallelly with the plane of the surface of the brick to be chipped or treated, but in a trajectory which is not parallel with such face.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide such a machine which is fast of operation, and requires but a manual operation, namely, feeding the bricks to be treated onto a free-wheeling conveyor.

In the drawings, wherein is shown the preferred form of the invention,

Figure l is a plan view of the machine;

Figure 2 is a front view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section on about line 3-3 in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a section on about line 44 in Figure l; and,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view showing detail of construction, more particularly of the brick working tool.

Referring now by numerals to the drawings, wherein like nu ..erals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the various figures, 16 Shows a free-wheeling conveyer of suitable design, conprising an inclined portion A and a horizontal portion 10B.

Secured to the conveyer frame, on opposite sides thereof, are two guard rails 11. The rails are so spaced apart and so positioned above the rollers R of the conveyer as to be loosely engaged by opposite faces of the bricks, which are loaded onto the conveyer lengthwise and standing on edge. In other words, the bricks lie on the conveyer end-to-end (and not side-by-side), and are supported on one edge, that is on one narrow longitudinal face. By providing an inclined portion 10A, the bricks by gravity tend to move forwardly on the horizontal portion 16B of the conveyer.

The forward movement of the bricks is controlled (arrested or stopped) by a stop-and-feed device in the form of :1 wheel 12 in part constituted by an inflated tire 13, which is disposed above the rollers of the conveyer portion 10B and in the path of the bricks. The wheel is so supported that the distance between it and the rollers ICC 0f the conveyer is slightly less than the width of the brick, so that the tire is engaged by the forward upper edge of the brick, and the brick comes to a stop.

The wheel is journalled on the end of a short spindle 54 pivotally mounted as at 55 to the end of a lever 15 which is pivotally mounted as at 56 to the end of an upright or support 16 rigidly fixed relatively to the conveyer. Fixed to the wheel is a gear 17 formed with ratchet teeth. Riding on the gear is a dog 18 pivotally carried by a bracket 57 fixed to the spindle 54. The arrangement of gear and dog is such that the wheel is ro tatable in one direction only, that is, clockwise as seen in Figure 1 (see arrow). The lever 15 is provided with a rigid horizontal extension 19 substantially at right angles to the lever 15. The lever 15 is arcually moved or oscillated horizontally, periodically bodily to displace the wheel 12 forwardly and rearwardly above the conveyer rollers.

As already stated, the firstor forward brick on the conveyer comes to a stop under the tire of the wheel 12. As the wheel bodily moves rearwardly, in the direction of the arrow, the tire rolls over the first or forward brick until the bodily movement of the wheel comes to a stop, that is, until the wheel reaches its rearwardmost position. The rearwardmost bodily movement of the wheel is determined by the engagement of the lever extension 19 with a set screw 26, adjustably threaded through a bracket 21 rigidly carried by the upright 16.

The diameter of the tire and the bodily movement of the wheel are such that a (forward) portion of the brick will project forwardly of the area of contact of the tire with the brick when the wheel is in its rearwardmost position.

Upon reverse or forward bodily movement of the wheel 12, the first brick is advanced on the conveyer rollers by the now non-rotating Wheel and is so advanced until the wheel reaches its forwardmost position.

The wheel is urged towards its rearwardmost position as by a coil spring 22 tensioned between the end of the lever 15 and the roller conveyer frame.

The position of the spindle 54 may be adjustedslightly tilted up or down-by a set screw 58 threaded through an arm 59 rigid with the level 15.

Mounted to move in a plane transverse to the axis of the conveyer is a pair of working tools or chisels TT. The tools are adapted each to engage, on its operative stroke, a'relatively small portion of one (side) face of the brick held in position by two guides 63. The arrangement is such that the working or cutting ends of the tools move clear of the last (forwardmost) roller and engage the (first) brick while it is held loosely between said guides 63 and a shde rail 64, the latter being adjustable to vary depth of chip-off position of the brick.

The tool T takes the form of a square rod 25 having a bit or cutting tool proper 26 removably secured to the outer end of the rod as by a machine screw 27. In practice, a tool proper, 1" square and in the form of a twofaced chisel, has proved very satisfactory.

The tool, more particularly the rod which carries the tool proper or chisel, is eccentrically mounted at one end (the rear end) on a shaft 28 journalled in bearings 29 secured to the frame of the machine. The rod is also eccentrically supported, intermediate of its length, by a crankshaft 3G journalled in bearings 31 carried by the machine frame. The arrangement is such that the end of the working tool or chisel moves in a loop-shaped path or trajectory, and not in a true reciprocating linear path or trajectory.

As the movement of the wheel 12 must be co-ordinated with that of the two tools TT, a bracket or member 52 is fixed to the tools and is adapted to engage the lever extension 19 of the lever 15, forcibly to rotate the extenequal to that of the sprocket 4G.

7 2,809,625 Y a W .3-

sion clockwise, as seen in Figure 1, and therefore to move the wheel bodily forwardly against the action of the coil spring 22. The wheel is returned to its normal or rest position, determined by the engagement of the lever extension 19 with an adjusting screw 20 carried by the bracket 52, by the tension in the spring as the. tool (to which the bracket 52 is fixed) is moved on its return stroke. The bracket is so fixed to the tool and the effective ratio of the leverage of the lever 15 and the lever extension 19 is such that the wheel will be moved forwardly on the withdrawal or return'stroke of the tool a relatively short distance, as nearly as possible equal to the effective width of the tool.

After the chipping or cutting operation of the (foremost) brick has'been completed, the brick is pushed by the next. or oncoming brick due to the action of wheel 2 providing a steady and continuous advancement. The chips fall onto a chute 33 and upon an inclined belt conveyer 35, to be lifted by the conveyer and dumped at the upper end of the conveyer into a hopper or truck as desired. The finished bricks are passed over rail 64 between both guides 65 to the operator for removal.

Fixed to the shafts 28 are two flywheels 35. One such flywheel is grooved. The grooved flywheel is driven by a belt (or belts) 38 tensioned between such flywheel and a suitable motor 36. Fixed to the shaft of such flywheel is a gear 37 meshing with an idling gear 39. Turning with the gear 39 is a sprocket 40. Fixed to the shaft 28 mounting the other flywheel is a sprocket 40A of a diameter Both sprockets are driven together by a sprocket chain 42 trained around the sprockets 49 and 40A and over slack-absorbing idling sprockets 48.

Fixed to one of the shafts 28 (the right-hand one, as seen in Figure 2) is a pulley 44. Trained around the pulley 44 and a pulley 43 journalled under the machine frame is a belt 45. Turning with the pulley 43 is a smaller pulley 47. Trained between the pulley 47 and a pulley 51 mounted on one of the chain driving shafts 53 of the belt conveyer 35 is a belt 54. The belt of the conveyer is thus driven from the motor 36. 7

While the machine has been described in terms of a brick-cutting machine, it is to be understood, and evident, that the same machine may serve to cut stones.

Operation The bricks (or stones, as the case may be) are laid successively, end-to-end, on the inclined portion 10A of the conveyer 10. The bricks, by gravity, roll forwardly on the conveyer, until the first brick in the line engages the tire of the Wheel 12. If the wheel is in its rearwardmost bodily position, it will move bodily forwardly as the motor 36 is turned on. The row of bricks will advance forwardly as the wheel moves forwardly. If, on the other hand, the wheel is in its forwardrnost position, the wheel will move rearwardly as the motor is turned on, and its tire will ride partly over the first brick (that is, the brick adjacent the wheel) and on its return or forward stroke, the wheel will advance the brick therewith into the path of the tools T-T. The motor drives both of the tools, as already explained. On the eifective or working stroke of the tools, the bracket 52 attached on the left-hand tool frees the lever device 19 to rotate on its vetrical axis counterclockwise as seen in Figure 1, and the wheel is moved bodily. rearwardly', under the action of the ten sionedispring 22, partly to ride over the first brick. The rearward bodilymovement of the wheel is determined by the. engagement of the extension 19 with the screw 20. On the return stroke of the tools, the bracket 52 (more 4 particularly the screw 20) engages the extension 19 and rotates the lever device clockwise against the action of the coil spring.

What we claim is:

- 1. In a brick cutting machine, the combination of a conveyor on which the bricks are laid end-to-end to be moved to be successively cut,.a brick stop-and-feed device adjacent one end of said conveyor, a pair of brick cutting tools disposed in a plane at right angles to the axis of said conveyer and presenting their cutting ends toward said axis, simultaneously-operating means supporting one end of said tools, respectively, to impart a reciprocating movement thereto, simultaneously-rotating means supporting said tools, respectively, ata point remote from the cutting ends thereof, said means operating simultaneously and cooperating to impart a looped trajectory to said cutting ends, means for actuating said tools, and an operative connection between one of said tools and said device for advancing a brick into the effective path of said tools while said tools are on their returning, non-effective stroke.

2. In a machine as in claim 1, said stop-and-feed device including a wheel mounted for rotation in one direction only, a horiZontally-pivotally mounted lever carrying said' wheel so that said wheel is bodily arcually movable toward and away from the plane of said tools, and resilient means urging said wheel bodily away from the plane of said tools.

3. In a brick cutting machine, the combination of a conveyer on which the bricks are laid end-to-end length- Wise on their narrow edge to be moved to be successively out, a pair of working tools disposed in a plane at right angles to the axis of said conveyer and presenting their cutting ends toward the axis of said conveyer, means mounting said tools so that the cutting ends move in an endless, looped trajectory, a lever device mounted for rotation on a vertical axis, a shaft pivotally supported at one end to said device on a horizontal axis, a tired-wheel journalled on said shaft above the plane of said conveyer, a spring urging said shaft downwardly'and away from the plane of said tools, means preventing rotation of said wheel on said shaft in one direction so that said wheel is non-rotatable when said lever device is arcually moved to move said wheel toward the plane of said tools to advance the brick toward said tools, means limiting the arcual movement of said lever device as urged by said spring, and means on one of said tools co-operating with said lever device to move said wheel toward the plane of said tools on the return, non-working stroke of said tools.

4. In a brick cutting machine of the kind described, the combination of a conveyer on which the bricks are laid end-to-end to be moved to be successively cut, a pair of working tools disposed in a plane at right angles to the axis of said conveyer and presenting their cutting ends toward said axle, means temporarily holding a brick in the path of said tools, simultaneously-operating means supporting one end of said tools, respectively, to impart a reciprocating movement thereto, simultaneously-rotating References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Chavin Feb. 27, 1917 Koch Aug. 4, 1946 

